"Hero" is over-used..

I know this post will probably evoke different feelings and opinions.. and I'm open to anyone's (and everyone's) opinion. I'm not here to put anyone's opinions down, and I hope everyone feels the same. I must say though, I think the word "hero" is being used far too common by the public/media (mainly the media..). On CNN today they keep trying to imply that the lady who called 911 to turn Nichols in is a "hero." You see, this is where I disagree. I agree with the Gwinnett County Police Chief in saying that she is a "Champ." Again, the media tried to get him to imply that she was a "hero" and he stayed away from that by saying, "Well she gave great information, solid information, and did the right thing. She truly is a champ." According to Webster a hero is defined as..

Hero \He"ro\, n.; pl. Heroes. [F. h['e]ros, L. heros, Gr. ?.] 1. (Myth.) An illustrious man, supposed to be exalted, after death, to a place among the gods; a demigod, as Hercules.
2. A man of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering; a prominent or central personage in any remarkable action or event; hence, a great or illustrious person.

I think what this lady did was commendable, but it's not like she voluntarily entered that situation. She was almost "forced" into that situation by Mr. Nichols. Simply put, she did the right thing. I would hope that anyone who was put into her situation would react the same way. According to initial reports, she was never held hostage, and never forced in any way. Again, these are all initial reports, but remember, they still want to call her a "hero."

I feel that the over-use of this word takes away from it's meaning. If we start to throw this word around, it loses its significance. Like a song on the radio that is over-played, if this word continues to be "over-played" then it will lose its meaning.

Those are just my thoughts, I'd be curious to see what everybody thinks about this. Again, this lady did an excellent deed, and truly is a "Champ."

I agree that the word has become watered down, In my mind there is no doubt that many Police officers/EMT's/Firefighters are indeed "heroes" but the term is now thrown around all the time for most any act of bravery.

I imagine this post came from the bracelet post, and to comment on that I believe we all joined the FD for the rush and thrill of fighting fires and helping others, and what we found in turn was a Brotherhood.

Originally posted by FFEMT284 I imagine this post came from the bracelet post, and to comment on that I believe we all joined the FD for the rush and thrill of fighting fires and helping others, and what we found in turn was a Brotherhood.

HA.. I did read the bracelet post, but I've thought this word was over-used way before that. On several occassions someone will do something and they are hailed a "hero." I've always been like, "What the F*** did they do that is heroic?" I think this word can be used for anyone (not just police/FF/emt/soldiers), but I don't think it can be used for everything!

Heros

Well... where do you feel that it is proper to use the term "hero"? I feel that the H word is all too often used in the fire service to describe people doing the assigned tasks of the job. I did not apply for the position of "Hero". I also think that its dangerous for us to let the public run wild with their fantasies of heroic Firemen risking it all every day. Someday we may have to pay for all this self promotion and it won't be pretty. First time in forum...
97

Re: Heros

Originally posted by NinetySeven Well... where do you feel that it is proper to use the term "hero"? I feel that the H word is all too often used in the fire service to describe people doing the assigned tasks of the job. I did not apply for the position of "Hero". I also think that its dangerous for us to let the public run wild with their fantasies of heroic Firemen risking it all every day. Someday we may have to pay for all this self promotion and it won't be pretty. First time in forum...
97

I totally agree with you..

I think this word can be used for anyone (not just police/FF/emt/soldiers), but I don't think it can be used for everything!

I feel it is most appropriate to use the word when someone goes above and beyond (

Re: Heros

Originally posted by NinetySevenWell... where do you feel that it is proper to use the term "hero"?

Originally posted by E229Lt 01-24-2004 01:39 PM A grizzled and highly decorated FDNY captain who got his men out of a burning home in Queens just before the ceiling collapsed on him yesterday was hailed as a hero.

Speaking in the Elmhurst Hospital Center emergency room, Capt. John Maloney told how he saw the ceiling above him tremble as he and his men battled flames at 12-11 30th Road in Astoria.

Maloney said he guided firefighters toward a rear door, counting the helmets in front of him, and muttering, "I'm the last man out."

With his company out of danger and himself a few steps from safety, the second floor caved in, pinning Maloney under smoldering debris. His right foot caught under a ceiling joist. His oxygen mask was torn from his face. Burning timber smashed into his head, and he nearly bit off his tongue.

"I was knocked down. My mouth was bleeding," Maloney, 56, told the Daily News. "I squirmed around to get my foot out of my boot and clawed my way out."

Mayor Bloomberg, who visited Maloney, was impressed with his courage.

"That's why he's the captain. That's what leadership is," Bloomberg said. "I hope the probies look up to him and want to be like him."

Firefighters from Rescue Co. 4 wanted to rush Maloney to the hospital on a stretcher. But Maloney, a 31-year FDNY veteran dubbed Tiger Leader by his men at Ladder 138 in Corona, refused to be carried.

"If he had his way," Ladder 138's Brian Cullen, one of swarms of firefighters at Maloney's bedside, said, "he'd be back at work right now."

The injured captain's wife, Monica Maloney, nodded in agreement, noting that not even FDNY's darkest day made him consider quitting.

On Sept. 11, Maloney was directly under the north tower when it fell. He survived by diving under a tow truck.

"My husband loves his job so much, I really thought he had to be dead, or near dead, if he let anyone take him to the hospital," Monica Maloney said.

But Maloney - cited 15 times for bravery - was in stable condition yesterday, admitted with burns on his neck, a cracked pelvis and needing stitches across the tongue.

Another firefighter, John Barry of Engine 260, was treated at Weill Cornell Medical Center for second-degree burns on the knees.

Fire officials said squatters lived in the two-story house and that the blaze was believed to be arson.

Just doing his job, or something more?

I think something more. Between public safety and the military, you should be able to find plenty of examples.

The word 'hero' is definitely overused. To me, a hero is someone who enters into a situation knowing that there is a great risk of either death or serious injury. Just because someone does something admirable doesn't make him or her a hero. Anyone can be a hero, but there has to be that element of risk.

I will also concur that we did know the risks when we took the job. Those risks include running into a burning building as others run out is one of them. Putting our lives in harms way is a day to day risk and part of the job.

I will concur with the thoughts on the copy of the article about the queens fire. If you make a rescue and save a life...that is great. That is what we are all about. But if you go to the extreme and take risks over and above what our normal everyday job it, then perhaps you could be a considered a hero.

09-11 .. 343 "All Gave Some..Some Gave ALL" God Bless..R.I.P.
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IACOJ Minister of Southern Comfort
"Purple Hydrant" Recipient (3 Times)
BMI Investigator
------------------------------
The comments, opinions, and positions expressed here are mine. They are expressed respectfully, in the spirit of safety and progress. They do not reflect the opinions or positions of my employer or my department.

So, in our line of work, we get rid of all the "heroism" awards, all the recognition for bravery and replace it with, oh, let's say, "EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR"?
Look; it might sound better to some of you when someone from the public sector refers to our kind as "heroes". Many of us don't refer to ourselves as heroes, but the facts are; sometimes, some of our own, perform an exceptional act of bravery that should absolutely be recognized.
To say we are just "doing our job" is a very shallow analogy of what being a firefighter is all about. There is no job on earth where a person is so emotionally, physically and philosophically attached to what they do. You don't "go to work" when you go to the station. You are extending a caring culture to those in your response area. Firefighters are not like cashiers. They are not tree trimmers. What we do has a value that cannot be measured in paycheck or fringe benefits. When people see us and what we do, it reinforces in them that there is someone they can turn to if they get into trouble.
If a cashier runs into a burning house to save someone, it is indeed an act of heroism.
When a firefighter runs into a burning house to save someone, it is an act of bravery and depending on the circumstances may give rise to "heroic".
We are different. The same rules do not apply. We feel different about what we do.
How many of you while you were growing up, said to yourselves "when I grow up, I want to be a tool setter"? There is value in what they do, but it ain't nothin' like ridin' the tailboard!
In my opinion.
CR

09-11 .. 343 "All Gave Some..Some Gave ALL" God Bless..R.I.P.
------------------------------
IACOJ Minister of Southern Comfort
"Purple Hydrant" Recipient (3 Times)
BMI Investigator
------------------------------
The comments, opinions, and positions expressed here are mine. They are expressed respectfully, in the spirit of safety and progress. They do not reflect the opinions or positions of my employer or my department.

I will have to say that awards for employee, firefighter, emt or officer of the year are good if they are due to a person being nominated by their peers for their accomplishments throughout the year. This is for someone who goes above and beyond and if done right is a boost to the moral. Some (not all) people like to be recognized for their work if it is outside the norm.

But I do not consider these awards to be for "heroes." They are for standout employees or members in the case of volunteers.

09-11 .. 343 "All Gave Some..Some Gave ALL" God Bless..R.I.P.
------------------------------
IACOJ Minister of Southern Comfort
"Purple Hydrant" Recipient (3 Times)
BMI Investigator
------------------------------
The comments, opinions, and positions expressed here are mine. They are expressed respectfully, in the spirit of safety and progress. They do not reflect the opinions or positions of my employer or my department.

But I do not consider these awards to be for "heroes." They are for standout employees or members in the case of volunteers.

You bring up an interesting point about volunteers, and to be honest, I look at them differently. I would be all for calling a volunteer FF a hero if they did something to earn the title. Volunteers dont have to volunteer.

I guess what Im trying to say is if your doing your job, then no. I dont consider volunteering as doing a job.

I agree that the word is overused, but I do believe that firefighters perform "heroic" tasks, sometimes when they could justifiably not be done.

You work on a metropolitan department. How many guys do you know that constantly try to get to the slowest possible companies. Not veterans who have paid their dues, new guys who want to do nothing. How many Company Officers do you know that drag *** to the equipment because arriving on scene first is "scarry."

Firefighters of today, at least in my town, are very different from the ones that were hired less than 10 years ago.

We have had guys crying through class and graduating to hide on fire scenes until everything is over with.

Award ceremonies are good. They honor employees that are trying to maintain the standard of days past where most every firefighter was living up to the word in daily acts.

A firefighter who will, without hesitation or justification, place their life between a victim and a dangerous/life-threatening situation deserves the accolades, recognition and congratulations of their peers. Receiving that recognition isn't the motivation for what firefighters do, but is more of a celebration for surviving their own version of Hell. We constantly talk about reducing risks, making firefighting safer and eliminating LODDs when the reality is that; as long as we answer the call and a life is at risk, many firefighters will push their bodies to their defining moment in a moment of unexpected circumstance, rely on their training, experience and perhaps, faith; weighing all of that in a matter of seconds against the possible outcome and mobilizing their courage to act. This act goes well beyond what we are taught to one that we FEEL. We have always fought for the underdog. We have always wanted to help those who have needed it. We tell ourselves that we don't want to burn up in a fire. We transfer that image to that trapped victim and WE DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO THEM! So, some make the decision to attempt a rescue. It's not stupid or ignorant. It is Man's caring and humanitarian beliefs taken to the ultimate degree.
I will temper what I say with this decision cannot be made in a cavalier fashion; if made at all.
I wish that firefighting was much safer than it is. I wish that firefighters did not have to die in the performance of their duties or from the effects of years of physical abuse, as I said previously; if you come into the profession for a paycheck and fringe benefits, then on many occasions, you will be just another spectator.
Plan to get out alive every time.
CR

as always, the voice of reason

A firefighter who will, without hesitation or justification, place their life between a victim and a dangerous/life-threatening situation deserves the accolades, recognition and congratulations of their peers. Receiving that recognition isn't the motivation for what firefighters do, but is more of a celebration for surviving their own version of Hell. We constantly talk about reducing risks, making firefighting safer and eliminating LODDs when the reality is that; as long as we answer the call and a life is at risk, many firefighters will push their bodies to their defining moment in a moment of unexpected circumstance, rely on their training, experience and perhaps, faith; weighing all of that in a matter of seconds against the possible outcome and mobilizing their courage to act. This act goes well beyond what we are taught to one that we FEEL. We have always fought for the underdog. We have always wanted to help those who have needed it. We tell ourselves that we don't want to burn up in a fire. We transfer that image to that trapped victim and WE DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO THEM! So, some make the decision to attempt a rescue. It's not stupid or ignorant.It is Man's caring and humanitarian beliefs taken to the ultimate degree.

And that my friends is why we acknowledge you not only as the everyday heroes in life but sometimes the extraordinary hero who deserves to be acknowledged for the risks that you face everyday.

09-11 .. 343 "All Gave Some..Some Gave ALL" God Bless..R.I.P.
------------------------------
IACOJ Minister of Southern Comfort
"Purple Hydrant" Recipient (3 Times)
BMI Investigator
------------------------------
The comments, opinions, and positions expressed here are mine. They are expressed respectfully, in the spirit of safety and progress. They do not reflect the opinions or positions of my employer or my department.